This invention relates to fire fighting technology and particular to aerial fire fighting devices.
Large area fires, such as forest and brush fires, present unique problems in containment and cause devastating effects on the environment, property and wild-life. They can spread quickly and can be difficult to contain and extinguish once they reach a certain size due to the abundance of fuel and oxygen. Since they can start in very remote and inaccessible areas, attacking the fire from the air with “smoke jumpers” and spraying the area with fire retardant chemicals and or water, with specially equipped low flying aircraft and helicopters are commonly practiced fire fighting techniques. These aerial fire-fighting techniques are costly, risky on the fire-fighters and their aircraft and require a specially trained crew with diverse expertise.
A shortcoming of aerial spraying of an area with fire retardant chemicals or water with aircraft is lack of precision in the delivery system. Inaccuracy is basically due to two factors: height and limitations imposed by delivery speed. Due to concern for the safety of the aircraft, fire retardant chemicals or water are sprayed from a low flying aircraft from a height which is much higher than optimum. In addition, when delivered with a relatively high flying speed, they are dispersed to an area far larger than the desired target area so density and thus effectiveness on the target area is often less than optimal. The speed component of the inaccuracy of the delivery process can be somewhat eliminated by using a helicopter for the delivery. Using a bucket hanging from a helicopter with water or fire retardant chemicals has a higher probability of hitting a desired target. However, the amount that can be carried with helicopters is seldom enough to be effective, and it is very risky. In both methods, the lowest altitude of delivery of water or fire retardant chemicals is determined by the height of the flames and constraints imposed by smoke and air currents and safe flying and maneuvering altitude of the delivery aircraft. Local turbulence caused by the fire and the terrain is also factors determining the lowest altitude and speed of the delivery.
Ordnance designed for weapons delivery military applications, such as laser-guided steerable bombs, GPS guided JDAM winged glide bomb and winged missile type vehicles, are not suitable for firefighting applications because the wings are intended for minimal control and thus provide only a small target footprint for the vehicle. Moreover, the JDAM vehicles are not provided with any sort of interactive control system that would permit timed, coordinated targeting of multiple delivery vehicles in a target region.
What is needed is a more efficient and safer delivery system is needed for fighting fires.